Movie Reviews

Movie Review by Trijai Nerthi (Rocheston Certified Movie Critic)

Gemini Ganeshanum Suruli Rajanum puts the spotlight on a deceiving playboy. The film is based on his romantic journey that heads towards an eventual redemption. But just to witness his almost redemption, you are put through an array of his juvenile, tortuous and sometimes vulgar romances. Is its final message worth all the trouble you are put through? Not really.

The film revolves around Gemini Ganeshan and his four measly love affairs with women. He tricks each woman into falling in love with him and ditches them to move on to another woman. When this pattern finally breaks, he sets out to seek their forgiveness and requests their presence at his wedding. A comical journey towards his redemption is what the film intends to achieve.

Gemini Ganeshanum Suruli Rajanum bears many similarities to Theeratha Vilayattu Pillai. The only difference being, it takes a micro-effort to admit the hero’s flaws. But this admission of flaws is brought down to just one half-hearted monologue whereas the whole film is filled with Kalakka Povathu Yaaru style of comedy, untimely songs, stretched out pace and recycled moments. In the end, all you want to do is to overlook its micro-step in the right direction.

Director Odam. Illavarasu might have thought a character like Gemini to be progressive considering the film unlike many Tamil films thrusts the blame on the hero instead of female-thrashing. But what’s the point of the hero’s reformation when the film’s sole focus lies on the fluffed up romances the character has? Why base the film on such a despicable character when even his act of seeking forgiveness is cut down to two minutes? Considering the brutal manner in which Gemini tricks women, how can one ever grow to like him? More importantly, how can any of this be considered comedy? These are just a few of the many questions that the film will leave you with.

A few moments used to drive the story forward contain elements we’ve already been a witness to in Tamil Cinema. For instance, The “I’m Waiting” dialogue from Thupakki is once again used to an unbearable degree. A little bit of Vasool Raja and Abhiyum Naanum references come to surface when the hero is seen feeding and grooming a beggar. Many more clichéd elements like these are used and reused in the film.

In the beginning, the hero spends so much time objectifying women that towards the end, when the narrative tells you he has changed, you never grow to believe it. For example, in the first half, he tricks Lavanya into falling for him by calling her akka (sister). What a poor example of reverse psychology? The entire sequence seems too perverse in order to be tolerated. More so, he even comments on the skin color of women and offers solutions for them to have a “white and pimple-free” face. When ample amounts of time are spent on elaborating this character’s misogyny, how can one believe him to be reformed if the time taken to establish this change is hardly ten minutes?

Atharvaa, as Gemini Ganeshan has attempted to play the boy next door, but his play against type turns out to be unsuccessful. Most of the time, he is seen holding onto a sheepish grin that takes the sincerity away from his performance. A more versatile palette of emotions could’ve been brought to the plate. Except for the climax sequence, Soori’s humor throughout the film falls flat. Rajendran is type-casted into yet another role that has no scope for him. It’s as though the team has brought him in just because their intended genre is comedy. Actresses Regina Cassandra, Pranitha, Aaditi Pohankar and Aishwarya Rajesh have no scope to perform even though they are given an equally distributed screen-time. Their screen presence is used merely to add color to this film. T Shiva’s character seems to be the only one sharing our annoyance towards this story and its main character.

From light spills to an unwarranted use of jarring colors, the film’s cinematography is a visual mess. A neater approach could’ve provided vibrancy to the visual storytelling. Music director D Imman’s background score is overly melodramatic instilling a sense of artificialness. The songs too, are quite mediocre and badly placed in the film.

On the whole Gemini Ganeshanum Suruli Rajanum is a slow-moving, unfunny, overtly dramatic yawn fest. Life is too short to be exposed to this sort of recycled moments and stale humor.